Jump Into the 'Ocean' with Saturday Looks Good to Me

Death on the high sea sounds like a pretty grim premise, but don'ttake Midwestern twee popsters Saturday Looks Good To Me too seriously.Starkly contrasting its title, "(Even If You Die on the) Ocean" is agleeful, lighthearted take on death and water -- more Gilligan's Island than Titanic.Suppose instead of always pestering the grumpy Skipper, the mischievousGilligan spent his time with a rusty six-string, shaping relaxed popsongs with a nonchalant consideration of a dour fate. On "Ocean,"songster Fred Thomas is our Gilligan, cheery with quirk as his staccatoacoustic strums and piano plinks crash consistently like waves on theshore.

That leaves freedom to his fluttering voice, like thebeach-flown kite, sailing upward before whipping around in vocalspirals. Harmonies come from the end of the hallway, sounding distantbut elated, happy to hit the high notes as Thomas admits that"everybody dies on the ocean." Maybe that's the case, but with SaturdayLooks Good to Me, it sounds like a blast. The band's new LP, Fill Up the Room, arrives Oct. 23 via the K label.

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